Eat for IF: 6 Tips for Proper Intermittent Fasting Nutrition

You're
interested in intermittent fasting (IF) and want to get a handle on how
to navigate the nutritional demands of this lifestyle. You've come to
the right place. IF is kinda a big deal these days, and not because it
is the latest in the line of bright and shiny diet fads (it's actually
been around for centuries) but because it works — and it works,hard.

What is Intermittent Fasting?

Intermittent fasting involves using
short, sustainable fasts and shorter periods of eating to to lose fat,
gain muscle, balance hormones, increase productivity and basically live a
longer, happier life.During your fasting period, you can
drink water, black coffee or tea, but you cannot eat or drink anything
with caloric value or anything that can affect your blood sugar levels.
The most common form of IF is the 16:8 method, meaning your fast window
is 16 hours a day and your feeding window is 8 hours.Simple, right? Well, yes and no.I'm going to take a moment here to
stop and introduce myself. I'm Hollay, the Content Manager at BodyRock
and the person behind many of the blogs you read. I've worked as a
personal trainer and nutritionist, and have been writing with and for
the BodyRock FitFam for almost eight years now. (So, even though we’re
just meeting, you’ve likely indirectly known me for longer than you
realize.) Hi! Rocking the 12 lb weighted vest for our first outdoor workout of the season!In my 11 years in the health and
fitness industry, I have seen many conceptions and misconceptions around
IF that make it difficult for people to get a solid handle on what it
is, why it works, and if it can really work for them — because IF will
not work for everyone. Our hormones, metabolic requirements, lifestyles
and preferences are all different, and there is no one-size fits all
diet.This said, IF does work for me and
countless number of people with whom I have worked. If you're not sure
if it will work for you, my best advice is to get the go ahead from your
doctor (especially if you have any medical conditions) and then, if you
get the green light, give it a whirl.

My purpose in giving you this background on myself is two-fold: first, it’s about time I saidhello, right?Second, I want you to understand that
the information imparted here is not simply pulled from some random
internet resource (that may or may not be legit) and Frankensteined
together to provide you with a mildly informative but ultimately
derivative AF read: it's founded in my education and my experience
seeing IF in action in real people.The intel here is also based on
Sean's experience and knowledge. If you haven't heard already, he's just
launched new, insanely popular IF based workout challenge, Fast & Furiously Fit, which has an accompanying ebook, BodyRock ShredFast.
This read delves into IF, imparting all the science, all the tips and
all the information you need (plus over 40 amazing recipes to support
your IF gains). Seriously .Check it out.So, now that you know where the following IF information is coming from, let's get on with the IF nutrition tips.

Tip #1: EAT during your eating window.

When I first started IF a few years,
it was after years of deprivation diets. (Hey, I may worked in nutrition
and advised against depriving your body of food, but that doesn't mean I
listened to my own good advice.) One of the tenants of IF I had a hard
time wrapping my head around was the fact I was going to have to eat a
lot. For eight hours. When you IF, you need to pack your daily
macronutrient requirements into a relatively short period of time, and I
had trouble doing this without feeling like I was over-eating.So, I underate, and as a result, I
was homicidal hangry in the morning. My oldest son took to calling me,
"The Hulk." The first time, to my face. Later, furtively and behind my
back. The two weeks it took me to start feeding myself properly were
likely not a rosy time in his childhood. Spare the people you love the
same fate: eat!

Tip #2: Save the BIGGEST meal for last.

Take a page from theShredFastebook
and ramp up your eating during the day, making your last meal the
largest one. Eat about ⅓ of your daily nutrient needs prior to this
point. Many people who successfully IF often use this last meal as an
opportunity to load up on the healthy grub they love so they're mentally
and physically prepared to fast. And since it's your last meal before
bed, you can afford to let all that food make you feel a little
lethargic and sleepy.

In the morning and early afternoon
when most of us need to feel alert and focused, keep the meals smaller
and less dense. Of course, we're not all on the same 9-5 schedule (shout
out to all the hardworking nurses who are killin' it in our Insiders Group!),
so you may need to rework your meal timing to suit your schedule, but
the point of this tip remains the same: make your last meal of the day
your biggest, whether that meal is at 7:00 a.m. or 7:00 p.m.

Tip #3: ONLY drink water or black tea or coffee during your fasting window.

I had a friend in university who ate a
shit ton of food. I’m talking lumberjack meals, every meal. It showed.
He hired a personal trainer. Like many trainers, he asked that my friend
to keep a food diary for a few days. After reviewing it, all the
trainer could say was, "You know you don't have to make love to every
meal, right?"I've always loved this response, and it brings me to this next tip. I know some people swear bulletproof coffee is acceptable, or drinks with artificial sweeteners or stevia
are okay and I'm not going to come down on either side of this debate,
since the jury is still out and I've read compelling studies to support
both sides. I will say this, though: you have nothing to lose and
everything to gain if you just err on the side of caution. Keep your
body running in a totally fasted state for best results.You may like the taste of your keto
coffee or stevia sweetened ice tea — and food and drink are wonderful,
glorious and absolutely necessary life sustaining things — but you
don't need to love-up every meal. You have eight hours to drink your
coffee however you like. But while you're fasting, just drink your
coffee black.*On a related note, if you're eating
enough and staying hydrated during your feeding window, you will not
need electrolyte drinks or snake juice to sustain a 16 hour fast unless your doctor has advised you otherwise.**And you can get our opinion on bulletproof coffee is here.

Tip #4: Get a handle on your macros.

I am almost uniformly against closely
counting food intake of any kind. It's a personal thing: I don't find
obsessing over food quantity helpful. This said, it's essential that we
all know a little about how our macro needs to ensure our bodies are
getting enough of what they needs.This article is a quick, easy read that will help you get a basic knowledge. For more detailed information, grab the ebook, which also gets into macro cycling (and gives a plan) for optimal IF gains.Oh, and don't get confused at the
mention of macro cycling: you will see gains without it, too, but helps
with next-level results.

Tip #5: Workout fasted.

Yep! Bodybuilders and fitness models
galore can attest to the incredible power of working out fasted. It’s
been shown to increase your fat burn and help you build lean muscle mass.
You don’t need to eat within that ‘golden hour’ of working out if your
fast doesn’t break then, but, if you’ve worked out fasted, you should
aim to eat within a couple of hours to keep the good gains coming. If
the timing isn’t working out and you workout much earlier than your fast
breaks, adjust your feeding/fasting windows.And speaking of which...

Tip #6: Play with your windows.

If at first you don’t succeed, try,
try again. The adage is old, and it’s apt. While I am definitely not
encouraging you to continue with IF if it is simply not working for you,
I am encouraging you to give it — and yourself — a fighting chance.
There are compelling studies that show women (some women) have a more
difficult time fasting than men. Thank our hormonal constitution. The 16
hours can be too long to fast on the regular. And that’s okay! It takes 8-12 hours from when you
finished swallowing the last mouthful of your last meal for your body to
enter a fasted state. At this point, your insulin is at its lowest
point and will start torching fat. So, you want to give your body a few
hours of prime fat-burning time before you enter your fed state again.
Hence, the 16 hours. However, you don’t need to push it to 16 all the
time. A great many women have astounding success doing a 16 hour fast
4-5 days a week, then a 14 hour fast the other days.I fast for 16:8 most days, 14:10,
others. I even take a day off fasting altogether every few weeks. I
also eat a litre of frozen yogurt now and then. Or a heaping plate of my
Dad’s amazing chelo kebab. And guess what? The 45 lbs I lost doing IF still stays off.Ack. I sound like a damn Jenny Craig commercial. Let’s refocus.My point is this: while there is a science behind IF, there isn’t an exact science to the way your body
will react to IF. Try to give your body as much time in the fat burning
zone as you can. If you’re eating properly and following these tips,
real, devastating hunger is unlikely to happen a 14-16 hour window
(though psychological hunger probably will, in the first few days or week — more about this in the ebook!).Our bodies are amazing, adaptable and
resilient. They’re also honest. Get your mind out of the way — the one
that tells you that you can’t push your fast an hour more because the
people you carpool with are stopping at Starbucks and you need a latte,
stat — and pay attention to your body. It will seldom steer you wrong.Have other questions?Join the BodyRocker Insiders Group!
Many of our FitFam is living #ThatIFLife and is happy to help share
their opinions and experiences. Ready join the legions of BodyRockers
who are loving Sean’s Fast and Furious Challenge. Sign up now! You can score 30 days of Sweatflix risk free.

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